This invention relates to a convertible patient lifting and transport apparatus, and to a method of transporting a patient from the bed to the toilet, or other distant location, and then back to the bed. The invention is especially applicable for use in the health care industry to reduce the incidence of on-the-job injury associated with manually lifting, handling and transferring patients. Injuries to the back and shoulder are most common.
Standard programs for health care injury prevention focus on body mechanics and back care, and the proper lifting techniques to employ when handling a patient. Notwithstanding this, injuries result even when proper body mechanics and lifting techniques are used. Lifting a patient is not simply overcoming a heavy weight. The patient's physical condition, size, shape, deformities, physical impairments, and weight are all factors impacting the manner in which a transfer is made. Some patients are combative and uncooperative. Patients can also be unpredictable, suddenly resisting movement and throwing caregivers off balance during a lift or transfer. Optimum posture is often difficult to maintain making the proper lifting technique impractical to follow.
Although mechanical and electromechanical lifting devices have been available for years, statistics showing physical overexertion from lifting and transferring bedridden patients remain unacceptable. Some nurses and other caregivers are reluctant to use such devices because of their many drawbacks and limitations. Among the disadvantages are the excessive time required to perform the lift and the instability of the patient in the device during the lift. Such devices can also aggravate sensitive skin, and typically place the patient in an embarrassing position when lifted. Moreover, these devices create storage problems, are difficult to maneuver, and generally cannot move sufficiently close to the patient's bed to effect a safe and proper transfer.
Many of the above problems were first addressed by the applicant in its prior issued patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,483. The complete disclosure of this patent is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention has features and advantages beyond those described in the '483 Patent. The invention includes a convertible support frame which expands to straddle the bed of the patient, and retracts to facilitate maneuvering within the patient's room. The patient is transferred between the bed and the bathroom and moved from a generally supine position to a seated position without any manual lifting or handling.